Top-ranked Rory McIlroy signed an agreement to use Nike Inc. golf equipment after ending his five- year relationship with Titleist, the company announced.
McIlroy, a 23-year-old from Northern Ireland, will use Nike-branded clubs and balls and wear the company’s apparel during his season debut this week at the European PGA Tour’s World Golf Championship HSBC Champions event in Abu Dhabi, Nike disclosed in a press conference.
The two-time major tournament winner joins Tiger Woods, No 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, as the most high-profile players using the Beaverton, Oregon-based company’s equipment. Nike also signed US PGA Tour players Kyle Stanley and Nick Watney and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen to endorsement deals this month.
“It’s a company and a brand that really resonates with me,” said McIlroy, who emerged onto a smoke-filled stage lit by circling spotlights for the announcement. “It’s young. It’s athletic. It’s innovative. They are committed to being the best, as am I.”
McIlroy and Woods, 37, were shown together in a television commercial during the announcement.
Terms of the contract weren’t disclosed by Nike or McIlroy. McIlroy’s agent Conor Ridge didn’t immediately return phone messages and e-mails seeking comment on the contract.